http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/n ... candal-mlb
While Cabrera didn't get the $90 million deal that he might have if not for his suspension, he still got a two-year, $18 million contract from the Toronto Blue Jays. Which means that even if you account for the $2 million or so he lost through his 2012 suspension, Cabrera will make something in the range of $23 million for his play from 2011-2014.
Twenty-three million dollars. Oh, sure, he might have gotten more if he hadn't been suspended, but … twenty-three million dollars.
We can reasonably speculate that Cabrera began using as early as 2011, given his sudden spike in performance, and given his established history of performance-enhancing drugs.
Cabrera made a choice to break the rules established by a union that was concerned about maintaining a level playing field among its brethren. Cabrera made a choice to go against those rules, and to cheat in competition against other union members.
This has been the practical impact of the decision: He is taking money that rightly belongs to somebody else. Somebody else should have gotten those at-bats with the Royals and Giants; he might as well as have broken into somebody's home and lifted a pile of cash from a safe. Pitchers whom he got hits against were diminished by his performance, which was fueled with at least one kind of banned substance.
The Giants shunned Cabrera after his suspension; they were offended by his actions, and by the way he sneaked out before speaking to the whole team. But for some reason, the union has never treated the PED guys with anything close to the same sort of disdain that they had for replacement players such as Rick Reed -- even though the PED guys pose a much greater threat.
Under the current rules, Cabrera still has plenty of room to cheat. He got a 50-game suspension for his offense last summer, and if he tested positive again this year or next, he'd get a 100-game suspension. But think about this: Even if he gets nailed a second time, he'd still make about $12 million of the $18 million on his deal. Twelve million dollars.
